Chapter 397
Steel is the 397th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail. With Levy now saved and his comrades given air, Gajeel gives Torafuzar his full attention, momentarily overwhelming the Demon Gate. However, Gajeel is left at the mercy of Torafuzar's body-hardening ability and the poisonous carbonic waters of Tenchi Kaimei, which have finally started to take effect. Remembering the words former Councilor Belno spoke to him years ago, Gajeel fights back and uses the carbon in the water to turn his iron into steel, which in turn he uses to defeat Torafuzar and dispel Tenchi Kaimei once and for all. Summary After beating Torafuzar away, Gajeel shakes Levy to get her attention, which he does, and asks her to give him more air, as well as give air to their floating comrades. Answering her silent confusion as to how she is supposed to do such a thing, he tells Levy to use her Magic to do so, which she does for everyone present. With renewed strength, Gajeel swims towards Torafuzar and completely overwhelms him in strength and speed, until, that is, Torafuzar makes use of his body's hardening ability to make his body harder than Gajeel's own iron. With Gajeel reeling, Torafuzar explains that he's renowned for his hardening ability and notes that Tenchi Kaimei's carbonic waters are starting to take their toll on Gajeel's body, albeit much slower than with everyone else because of his iron. Grabbing Gajeel, he now states that everyone has absorbed enough of the water and will perish; seeing everyone around him begin to die, Gajeel flashes back to just over seven years prior. Gajeel remembers a time just before Phantom Lord's war with Fairy Tail, at which point he was brought before the Magic Council to stand trial for laws he broke. After the trial, Gajeel remembers that Belno spoke to him about trying to live a life with meaning. He then flashes forward to just before the war with Tartaros, when he found Belno dead in her home; after he found her, Gajeel had traveled to a house roof and reflected on her words and how he never got a chance to repay her. Shedding tears, he promised to use his might for her. Regaining his grip on the present, Gajeel remembers that Belno once also said that he reminded her of her dead son, which he screams to be a bad omen. Breaking free, Gajeel honors Belno's words by shouting that he has people he needs to protect, and that they're his meaning to life, beating away at Torafuzar as he does so. Absorbing the carbon in the water around him, Gajeel turns his iron into steel and breaks through Torafuzar's hardened body. With a final flourish, he uses his new Steel Dragon's Sword to defeat Torafuzar and dispel Tenchi Kaimei. As they both hit the ground, Gajeel tells Natsu, in reference to their earlier bet, to never forget the song of his victory. Characters in Order of Appearance Battles & Events *Gajeel Redfox vs. Torafuzar (concluded) Magic, Curses, Spells, and Abilities used Magic used * ** * ** |Soriddo Sukuriputo}} Curses used * Spells used * |Ea}} * * Abilities used * * *Hand-to-Hand Combat *Super Armor (超硬鎧 Chōkōgai) Navigation